Call for Papers: ‘Intellectual Property and Resistance’

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ISHTIP
International Society for the History and Theory of Intellectual Property

8th Annual Workshop
CREATe, University of Glasgow, UK
July 6-8, 2016

‘Intellectual Property and Resistance’

CALL FOR PAPERS

In 2016, ISHTIP comes to Scotland, the home of booksellers such as Alexander Donaldson who sought to resist the monopolistic practices of their established London-based rivals, in the so-called Battle of the Booksellers of the eighteenth century. The patriotic Scottish booksellers, newcomers to the trade, sold cheap reprints of books sold by the London booksellers, including those in which statutory copyright, under the Statute of Anne 1710, had expired. The London booksellers responded with a series of lawsuits culminating in Donaldson v. Becket (1774), relying inter alia on copyright at common law, against which the Scots resisted. As Donaldson expressed in petitioning the House of Commons in 1774: ‘your petitioner has had to struggle with the united force of almost all the eminent booksellers of London and Westminster… above one hundred of the most opulent booksellers… have in their turn, been plaintiffs against your petitioner’. The resulting cases and more general debate about the nature of literary property are today remembered as a historic occasion on which the nature of copyright, as well as the more general notion of property in intangibles, was fully debated.

Taking the theme of ‘resistance’ as its starting point, we intend the 8th Annual Workshop to be a further occasion for the full debate of the theory and history of intellectual property! We invite abstracts for papers, exploring the theme of resistance in the broadest sense, in relation to any aspect of the history or theory of intellectual property law, in particular, but not limited to: historical or theoretical research that provides a basis for resisting dominant conceptions of IP law, its theory or history, or resisting claims relating to its timelessness or universality; historical or theoretical papers exploring IP law as empowering resistance to dominant social or cultural norms or relations of social power; historical or theoretical research into local diversity in IP laws (legislative, judicial and/or bureaucratic approaches) resisting moves towards international, imperial or regional harmonisation; historical and theoretical insights into modes of resistance to IP law, its enforcement and/or its exploitation.

We seek a broad representation of international scholars as well as scholars from across the disciplines. Papers may concern trade marks, patents, copyright, or related rights, including confidentiality and trade secrecy, and they may be historical or address current issues from a theoretically-informed perspective. Both established and junior scholars are encouraged to submit abstracts. We are keen to receive abstracts from those who have not recently presented at an ISHTIP workshop, particularly scholars who did not present at ISHTIP 2015.

To be considered for the workshop, please submit a 300-word abstract of your proposed paper as well as a one-paragraph bio and 2-page CV by 15 January 2016 to ishtip@create.ac.uk . Acceptance will be notified by 15 March 2016.

Complete papers (of max. 9000 words) will be due on 1 June 2016 so that they may be distributed in advance to registered workshop participants. Papers must be unpublished and not accepted/under consideration for publication elsewhere. It is expected that the best papers will be published in a special issue of an academic peer-reviewed journal or an edited collection.

Authors do not present their papers at ISHTIP workshops. Instead, a discussant presents a brief summary and critique to initiate the general discussion of each paper. All panels are plenary. ISHTIP workshops are thus a great venue for presenting and receiving feedback on work in progress from a global, multidisciplinary community of scholars.

For additional information, including past programs and 2015 program updates, visit the ISHTIP website at www.ishtip.org. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Elena Cooper of the CREATe team (elena.cooper@glasgow.ac.uk).